NC Trailers – Safety Advantage Service
Over 16,000 motor vehicle accidents happen every day in the United States. It has been stated that when a driver has a trailer attached to the vehicle they are driving, the chance of getting into an accident is higher. Many trailer incidents happen due to inexperience and negligence. However, you can help prevent these accidents from happening by simply choosing North Carolina Trailer Sales for all your trailer needs! NC Trailers supplies each customer with our Trailer Safety Advantage Service with every trailer purchased at our location.
Drivers do not have to have any specialized license to tow a trailer. So anyone, regardless of their experience, can hook up a trailer, and attempt to tow it down the road. It is always a great idea for all experience levels to familiarize yourself with the safety features and best practices when towing a trailer, whether that be utility, dump, gooseneck, car, or enclosed trailer.
During the process of purchasing a trailer, NC Trailers provides every customer who picks up their trailer at our dealership location with the Trailer Safety Advantage Service. This service includes inspecting the lights, brakes, coupler, tires, and the tow vehicles towing systems.
Lights: This service starts before we even hook up the trailer to your vehicle. Our hookup technicians check the parking lights, turn signals, brake lights, and other lights on your trailer with a tester. Once we determine everything on the trailer is working properly, we inspect your vehicle’s trailer connection to make sure you have proper plug configuration. We will then check the trailers lights again once you have hooked up the trailer to your vehicle.
You would be surprised how often this service finds blown fuses and damaged trailer plugs on vehicles. We can even take care of quick fixes like blown fuses on the spot!
Brakes: State law varies when it comes to trailer brake requirements. For most states, trailers rated over 3,000 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) require brakes. The limit in North Carolina is technically 4,000 pounds but many surrounding states require brakes at 3,000 pounds. So, most trailers rated over 3,000 pounds GVWR will have brakes.
We will test the brakes with a tester before hooking the trailer to your vehicle. Then we will test the brakes again once the trailer is hooked up to your vehicle. We assist customers in understanding how to operate their brake controllers. We then help set up and adjust the brake controller so it operates properly with the trailer brakes. Don’t worry, if you don’t have a brake controller installed on your vehicle, we can help with that too!
Breakaway systems are an emergency braking system for trailers with electric brakes. These systems are required by federal law so we must have them working no matter what state you are located in. Breakaway systems are connected from the trailer to the vehicle with a small cable. After we test the system, we show you the proper way to connect the breakaway cable to the vehicle to satisfy law enforcement and to help you in preventing it from dragging the road in tow.
Tires: Where the rubber meets the road… literally. During the Safety Advantage Service, we inflate the tires to the manufacturers recommended pressure and torque the lug nuts to the proper rating. We make sure to inform the customer of the pressure and torque for future use.
One thing that is often overlooked on new trailers is the lug nut torque. Our service does provide this when you purchase a new trailer. However, you must re-torque the lug nuts on the trailer after the first 100 miles of use. Reminding our customers of this requirement before they leave is an important part of the NC Trailer Safety Advantage.
Why must the lug nuts be retorqued after the first 100 miles of operation? Because trailer rims are brand new and have never been towed on a highway. This means that any paint, dust, or grime that may be between the lug nut and the rim will typically NOT work itself free until the trailer is towed over the road. After the first 100 miles of use, re-torque the lug nuts. At that point, the rim is typically considered “seated” and will not loosen as quickly in the future.
Coupler: You would be surprised how often people attempt to tow trailers with mismatched ball and coupler size. If not corrected, a bump in the road can cause the trailer to bounce off the ball and create a very dangerous situation. It is also important to have an adequately rated ball on your tow vehicle. A proper ball mount includes an adequate weight rating and drops to ensure level towing. Level towing is essential for the proper functioning of your trailer’s suspension. Don’t worry, our hookup techs check these items during the service to make sure you have a safe setup.
Safety Chains: Safety chains are a required safety feature for trailers. Not only must your trailer be equipped with safety chains, but they must also be connected to the vehicle properly. The proper way to hook up safety chains on tag-along trailers is to attach the hooks to the designed safety chain receivers in the forward position. Chains should be crossed and are not able to contact the road under normal use. Crossing the chains is required because it prevents the coupler from contacting the road in the event of the trailer detaching from the vehicle while in tow.
Service: Properly maintaining your trailer is essential for the long-term safety and performance of your vehicle. Most trailer manufacturers recommend an axle service to be performed on your trailer every 12,000 miles or 12 months; whichever comes first. This service requires taking the hubs apart, repacking the bearings, and replacing the seals.
If you have NC Trailers perform your axle service, we also perform our Trailer Checkup which includes inspecting the brakes, lights, lug nuts, tires, tire pressure, springs, bushings, and more. Our Hookup Techs review the service requirements with customers as part of our Trailer Safety Advantage Service.
Wouldn’t it be easier to just let the customer hook up and go rather than including the Trailer Advantage Service with every trailer sold at the dealership? Yes. But we have developed this procedure over the last 20 years to help our customers be as safe as possible when using our products. We often teach experienced drivers something they didn’t know before. This is one of the reasons customers have continued to choose NC Trailers for the last 20 years.
